The blog is dedicated to the work of Joseph David Toloff (1888-1957). From his studio in Evanston, Illinois he was one of the premier photographers of the North Shore from 1913 until his retirement in 1955. From time to time I will feature a different photograph or set of photographs by Toloff or other information about him I may uncover.

Monday, May 6, 2013

SOME CAMPUS VIEWS of Northwestern University by J.D. Toloff

As the fame of Joseph D. Toloff as a photographer grew, the demand for his services increased as well. There are many institutions of higher education along the North Shore and from the beginning Toloff was asked to do some of the photography for yearbooks from Roycemore School in Evanston all the way up to Barat College in Lake Forest. But Toloff had the longest relationship with Northwestern University in Evanston. Through the teens into the twenties Toloff's contributions to the Northwestern yearbook (called "The Syllabus") increased every year. In 1920 Toloff was named the official photographer for the Evanston departments of Northwestern:

In 1922 the university asked Toloff to provide photos for a section of the yearbook they were calling "Some Campus Views". They suggested that Toloff stroll around the beautiful and historic Evanston campus of Northwestern and photograph anything he found to be of interest. The result is sixteen sepia photos which Toloff chose as the ones he found most interesting. Here they are for your enjoyment: